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What happens when a manager becomes too sick, or too injured, and
can’t effectively manage anymore? Many companies fail to plan for
these kinds of scenarios, which can cause serious damage if the
right steps aren’t immediately taken.

In some cases, especially when an entrepreneur oversees the daily
operations of a small business, the lack of support from at least
one reliable employee can
“lead to some form of collapse of the enterprise,” says Peter
Bryant, who holds a PhD in management and is a professor of
entrepreneurship at IE Business School in
Spain. In other situations, warns Bryant, the work gets delegated
to whoever might be available, “which is often not the best
option because they might be a relatively junior person.” Here’s
how to avoid certain mistakes, or at least lessen the damage, in
these kinds of situations:

Set those notifications. It’s simple, but
effective: activate an “out of office” email alert and record an
answering machine message that notifies individuals you’re away
for health-related reasons. This tactic might have prevented
Vannessa Wade from missing out on new business. The chief
executive officer of Connect the Dots PR, a
Houston-based public relations firm, suffers from Sickle cell
disease, which unexpectedly leaves her exhausted or pains her
arms, legs or chest. During one debilitating episode, Wade failed
to tell a prospective client who contacted her that she would be
away for a couple of days. By the time Wade got back to the
individual it was already too late. “The person actually said
‘you didn’t respond fast enough, and we’re going to go with
another public relations company,” says Wade.

Find a replacement. While it’s unlikely
that every client will leave during an executive’s health crisis,
some will hesitate to stay. That’s why experts recommend quickly
finding a replacement to help manage aspects like customer
service and business development. When it was just a one-year-old
insurance startup, Petplan’s team got put to the
test after its co-chief executive officer Chris Ashton shattered
his ankle and broke his ribs in a 15-foot fall. He was lucky
enough that his wife and co-chief exec, Natasha, could step in.

Yet, over the course of about five months, the company had to
grapple with Chris’ constant absence as he underwent multiple
surgeries, dealt with unanticipated blood clots and needed time
to recover. That led Natasha to delegate additional day-to-day
duties to a senior manager. “He fielded more than he was used to
and took on more responsibility, enabling him to tackle calls and
build business relationships that he previously hadn’t had as
much,” says Natasha, 40, whose company earned $53 million in
revenue last year. The key to this strategy’s success: having
introduced the manager to everyone he would be dealing with.

Know your limits. Given the uncertain economy,
and the propensity for some human resource officials to skip over
resumes with breaks between gigs, it’s not hard to see why many
ill managers try to stay in the game—even when they might be
better off resting on the sidelines.

If Tron Jordheim could manage the dozen employees he used to
oversee at a water-bottling dealer all over again, he would do it
differently—by being less hands-on and fostering more
independence. Back then, following a diagnosis with testicular
cancer, the former sales manager spent eight months in and out of
chemotherapy—and in and out of work — as he leafed exhaustedly
through route logs and rode miserably with bottled water drivers.
“I didn’t want to lose my place in the company,” says Jordheim,
who is now the chief marketing officer of StorageMart. “I went to the
office just to show my face, even though I couldn’t really do a
whole hell of a lot. I’m not sure that brought anyone any value.”

Prepare for relapses. Owners of smaller,
cash-strapped firms often try to do it all—and understandably so.
But trying to be a Jack or Jill of all trades can not only worsen
your health, it might also jeopardize client relationships if
there are too many relapses in the future and trustworthy
replacements are hard to find.

Wade has spent the past few years cultivating relationships with
other public relations contractors, including writers, branders
and photographers in case her disease ever requires her to take
rest again or revisit the hospital. “They’ll say ‘we can take
handle it since you’re not feeling well,’” says Wade. “It makes a
difference and gives you clarity, and it reminds me you’re not on
earth to do things all alone.”